August 04,
Rising domestic Iron ore production and slowing steel demand have hit some foreign miners and affected the global market, said an Industry leader of Beijing on Tuesday.
China’s Iron ore imports have dropped for the third straight month to 47.2 million tons in June, while spot prices have dropped to about $122 per ton after peaking at $185 per ton in April mainly due to the rising domestic ore production.
China has domestic ore reserves of 62.4 billion tons, but most mines have low Iron content, adding to the cost of mining. Rising imported ore prices stimulated Chinese miners to source from the local markets.
The CISA have also decided to reduce the number of licensed Iron ore importers to regulate the imported ore market.
Most of the big steel mills like BaoSteel and Wuhan Iron & Steel have cut August prices by 5 percent to about 300 Yuan per ton from July. The steel prices began to fall after the government released its macroeconomic policies to control property prices.
Steel production in China has also reached a four month low in June due to weak demand from real estate companies and automobile industry.
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